Metal Gear Solid 3
by Major Raikov
Summary: A sequel to Metal Gear Solid 2 (R n R)
1. Default Chapter

Raiden couldn't believe his ears.  
  
"Space?" he said, gasping for breath.  
  
"It took of four hours ago," said Snake resting on the tattered couch, lighting a bent cigarette. He inhaled, and started to explain. "Otacon did most of the hard work."  
  
"But how? Who?"  
  
Snake looked at Raiden. He was still wearing his skullsuit. Snake had never taken the time to notice how it clasped itself to Raiden's body. It didn't look natural to him. Snake wondered how uncomfortable the suit must be for his comrade in arms. But this thinking was getting him nowhere. He knew there were more important matters at hand. But he needed to something to keep himself sane. He needed to know that he was still human, and that his life hadn't become and endless procession of battles and deaths. He wanted to believe that, after all of this was over, he could kick back with Raiden, or Jack, sipping a cold beer, laughing at jokes and some of the old suits they had to wear. But not today.  
  
"Turns out they had a base somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean," said Snake, taking another long drag on his cigarette, "they've been blasting of components from underwater, which have been met in space by sophisticated craft."  
  
"Hold on," said Raiden, bewildered. His head was starting to hurt. This past week had taken a lot out of him. If it wasn't Rose with her baby, it was Snake telling him about some new conspiracy within his own government. He needed a breather, to take five, so he could accept it all. He was going to be a father, and he was still getting to grips with that idea, but now, another mission. His life was getting more complicated every hour. He retired to the couch opposite Snake. Snake placed his feet on the table between the two, exhaling as he did so.  
  
"How can he be so relaxed?" thought Raiden, looking at around the dingy apartment. The single light coming from the ceiling had no shade, making it blinding to look at. It cast shadows on the dirty, grey walls, and the putrid bed in the corner. The bathroom was behind a door without a working lock. It smelled constantly due to the poor plumbing of the derelict building. He looked at snake with a hard stare. He had to accept what he was about to be told, and he wanted to be brave about it. But he had questions he wanted answering.  
  
"They've been blasting components from the middle of the ocean?" he asked, almost protesting for an answer.  
  
Snake nodded. "Yup."  
  
Raiden shook his head. "Who the hell? How do they explain cache's of military equipment flying out of one of the biggest oceans on the planet?"  
  
Snake chuckled to himself. "Do you remember the sinking of the British flagship Ark Royal last month?"  
  
"Of course," said Raiden, wondering why Snake was laughing. He couldn't help but feel mocked. "It was Iraqi extremists, right?"  
  
"They were on a diplomatic cruise to the White House to talk with vice president Richards, and some top British government officials were on board. Johnson was busy with the Arsenal development, and wasn't available for the meet. It wouldn't look good for the US if we were fingered for accidentally murdering a crew of British diplomats, so Johnson blamed it on a middle-eastern country. But even he didn't know who destroyed it."  
  
"Johnson." Raiden remembered the name well, mostly because he remembered him dying right before his eyes, only two weeks prior to this day. Revolver Ocelot had pulled the trigger. The president had demanded to be killed, but Raiden couldn't fulfil his wish. Maybe it was fate that made Ocelot step in moments later. "So who had destroyed the Ark Royal?"  
  
"Not who, what," said Snake, sitting forward, "that day saw the launch of the fourteenth cache of equipment from the marine base. The launch tore a hole right through the Ark Royal, sinking the craft, killing nearly everyone on board."  
  
"There were survivors?" asked Raiden, sitting forward to.  
  
"Yeah," said Snake gloomily, looking at the floor, "but they weren't around long enough to tell anybody what happened. A squad of highly trained forces surfaced, and flamed who were living, creating an inferno on the water."  
  
Raiden covered his mouth. He was near throwing up. "That's disgusting," he whimpered, "those poor souls. But, what about satellite images? Surely they would've revealed all to the president and to the British."  
  
"How do you think Otacon was able to get this intel," said Snake, beaming with parents pride, "hacked it of the Pentagons secret files himself."  
  
"The Pentagon? They're involved in this?"  
  
"Not exactly," said Snake, "the information flow around there is being monitored by someone, and some of it never makes it to the surface."  
  
"The Patriots." said Raiden, with deep-rooted anger.  
  
"Don't jump to conclusions," replied Snake sharply, "you and I know we can't confirm the Patriots actually exist. We have to go on the assumption that someone else is behind this."  
  
"Who could it possibly be?" said Raiden, jumping to his feet.  
  
"Raiden, calm down," said Snake in as soothing a tone he could manage, "we have to keep our heads if we're going to get through this!"  
  
"We? Who are we? If you think I want in on this, you can forget it right now! I've done enough for you already!" Raiden pulled out his Socom and threw it on the table, causing it to go off, the bullet imbedding itself on the far wall. Snake jumped in his seat.  
  
"Dammit, Raiden! You wanna sit down and listen to me? We are the only ones who can stop what's about to happen!" Snake shouted like a father scolding its child. He wasn't angry at Raiden. He knew how he was feeling. The man was just starting a family, and didn't expect Snake to come calling so quickly after the incident on the Big Shell. But Snake was in dire straits. He needed Raiden now more than ever. "Raiden, lsten," said Snake, calming down, "there is a child that needs your help, and without you, Otacon and me don't have a chance in hell saving him. And if we hit the weapon now, we can take out two birds with one stone!"  
  
Raiden looked at the ground. He nodded guiltily and slumped back onto his seat. Snake, following suit, continued to explain:  
  
"Do you remember the space station MIR project?"  
  
"Yeah," said Raiden, "they had astronauts from all over living in that thing. It was one of the biggest international unions the world has ever seen!"  
  
"That's what they wanted us to think," said Snake, with a slight snigger. Raiden frowned slightly. "Do you really think our government world put up the capital for something that was purely diplomatic?"  
  
He looked at Snake stupid. "Why not? They can avoid conflict with others that way. Whats this got to do with MIR? It came down at the turn of the century!"  
  
"Did it?"  
  
Raiden recalled the day it came down. He was training that day. He remembered being told that another trainee was killed during important exercises. He remembered doubting his own training, whether it was the right thing to do. He still doesn't know the answer.  
  
"Something did crash into the Earth that day," said Snake sitting forward, with a rye smile. "A dismantled Metal Gear!"  
  
"What? Metal Gear technology was available since then?"  
  
"The perfect cover-up for Big Bosses activities during 1999!"  
  
"So they just extracted the data and destroyed the evidence?" asked Raiden, proud that he already knew the answer.  
  
"Bingo!"  
  
"Wow." Raiden was impressed, slightly.  
  
"And I wonder who was beginning his first term in office that year," said a sarcastic Snake.  
  
Raiden knew the answer before he finished his statement. "Solidus."  
  
"MIR is still in the air Raiden," said Snake, "and its much more than just a space-station."  
  
Raiden gulped.  
  
"It is a fortress, equipped with a platoon of over one hundred Genome troopers, and is home to a fleet of twenty-five RAYS."  
  
"Standard?"  
  
"No," said Snake, "this is the elite model. Harder armour, and with a human pilot!"  
  
"What the hell.?" Raiden shook his head. "What are they planning?"  
  
"You haven't even heard the worst part."  
  
"Oh I can't wait to hear this," said Raiden, closing his eyes slightly.  
  
"A nuclear propelled ION cannon, capable of decimating almost any city on the face of the Earth in an instant."  
  
"Impossible!" said Raiden, "there are treaties, and there is no way they have a weapon in space!"  
  
"Raiden, I'm afraid this non-negotiable," said snake in a calming tone.  
  
"Are they planning something?" said Raiden, hoping to god he was on the wrong wavelength.  
  
"Not that we know of," said Snake, "but what we do know is that someone is planning to use this weapon." Raiden looked deep into Snakes sincere face. "Word on the street is that two launches are about to made from the Marine base, supposedly military personnel. I checked out some of their backgrounds."  
  
"What did you find?"  
  
"That's just it," Snake said with enthusiasm, "clean records. And there background, standard military fabrication. As far as the living world goes, these people don't exist."  
  
"You smell a conspiracy?"  
  
"I'm not sure," said Snake, "I just know I'm going to on one of those launches. And you are to!"  
  
"WHAT!?" 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - The Knife and the Shadow  
  
Somewhere dark.  
  
"Did he agree?" The woman slid into her chair, only semi-asking the question. The other half of her statement was pure rhetoric. She knew, really, that her plans were a success.  
  
The man stood above the table and lay a briefcase down upon it. "All we need are the other three to meet him, and it will all be in motion," he said in a slow monotonous drawl.  
  
The woman sat back. "Excellent, we shall arrange a meeting in the next couple of days."  
  
"Don't worry," said the man, opening the briefcase, "I've already arranged the meet. They will be seeing him tomorrow. We can relax for a while." He flipped the briefcase around to show the contents to his comrade.  
  
She peered in, and was unable to hide her obvious smile. "Did you count it?" she asked.  
  
"All fifty thousand accounted for," he said, also bearing a smile.  
  
"Good work, Puma," said the woman, "did Ivan say whether any of his own unit will be involved?"  
  
"Yes, two," said Puma, showing two fingers, "a guy named Fokker and a woman named Silver Wolverine."  
  
The woman smiled wider at the mention of Silver Wolverine. "So she made it out alive."  
  
"Am I missing something?" asked Puma with intrigue.  
  
"We were in Outer Heaven together. Silver was my nickname for her. Wolverine was the name given to her by the leader. We were a great team. We killed everything together."  
  
"Sounds like quite the childhood friendship," said Puma, sarcastically, but his teammate was in no mood to indulge him.  
  
"It was." she said quietly, her mind drifting of into nostalgia.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Wiping a tear from her eye, she looked up at Puma, remembering with heartfelt sadness the last time she saw her Silver Wolverine. "We were only truly beginning to put the operation into action. Then Grey Fox arrived on the island. The boss changed that day. He wouldn't speak to us personally, only over radio. And even then, he was only dishing out orders. We didn't know what was going on with him. Nobody did. We all new about the hostages and the weapon, but it was the boss' fury that scared us the most. Then, on that day, 'he' arrived."  
  
"He?" asked Puma, "you mean Solid Snake?"  
  
"Yes, the now infamous Solid Snake, on the operation that made him a legend," she replied, grinding her teeth. "People in the fort began to be found dead, important equipment started to go missing. Something had become very wrong in Outer Heaven that day. Silver and me were doing a routine search of the perimeter, when an explosion separated us. I had thought to this day that she was dead. But now I wish she had been."  
  
Puma laughed. "A heart-warming story," he said, still grinning, "but why the sudden change in your heart?"  
  
She looked up at him, amazed at his apparent stupidity. "Why? Do you honestly think that she would be pleased to see me, the one who left her to die?"  
  
"We have all been in that position," said Puma, now showing some of his intellect, "she knows as I do that its every man for himself out there."  
  
"You don't realise," she said, looking down at her hands on her lap, "there was more to us. A history."  
  
Puma became deeply intrigued. "Explain."  
  
She shook her head quickly. "No, not now. It is not the time."  
  
"Fair enough," replied Puma, removing his gloves, "were are the other three? I need to speak with them."  
  
"They're in the safe house," she said, eradicating Silver Wolverine from her mind. "What time will Shalashaska meet with them?"  
  
"He didn't say exactly," said Puma, acting the tough leader. He had a right to. After all, it was he who arranged all the meets with their allies and other shady dealings. He also attended a good ninety percent of the meets. He was the face of their operation. "He said he would call with the specifics in the next couple of hours, so keep the line clear."  
  
"Understood," she said, nodding.  
  
"I'm leaving to see the others. Call the safe house after he makes the call." And without a simple 'goodbye', or 'see you', he left his companion to her thoughts in that dingy room on the dark side of America.  
  
Somewhere else. A time before.  
  
"But sir."  
  
"Crimson, this is your job, its why I brought you here in the first place," said the boss, a tall ex-military man. He had a gruff voice and thick facial hair. He also wore a black eye-patch over his right eye. He was a man she had looked up to, but she was utterly disappointed with her new orders.  
  
"You brought me here to secure the perimeter? With respect sir, I don't think you are thinking clearly. I should be here, fighting alongside my master."  
  
"Crimson, I brought you here because I know I can trust you," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking deeply into her eyes, "I need you to this for me. I don't want you here. I want you to be safe, and that is not here."  
  
Crimson Blade looked up at her master. His face was earnest and his intentions were honest. It was true; he cared for each and every one of his soldiers. All of the members of FOXhound were like members of really big family. A family who had one major thing in common with each other. Killing.  
  
"Sir, I don't want to leave you. I want to stop the intruder at your side." Tears began to run down her face, sparkling as the fell of her cheeks.  
  
The boss smiled. "This is my battle," he said, moving his hand to her face, wiping away the streaks left by the tears. "I want you and Silver safe."  
  
"But."  
  
The boss knew his strategy wasn't working. He had to appeal to the soldier in his young protégé. "These are my last orders to you, soldier!" He roared, standing in an authoritative stance.  
  
It was at this moment, that the young and beautiful soldier known only as Crimson Blade, realised that she would never see her master again, beyond the next couple of moments. She wanted to say something to him, something that would have meaning, that they would both remember, as master and student. But she could only say two words:  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
Saluting, she turned on her heel, and left the room, leaving the man she had come to know as a father, to die.  
  
As she left the room, the automatic door slid back to its closed position, as her counter-part, Silver Wolverine, approached her. She was as cheery as ever.  
  
"What's with your face?" she asked, smiling, "we're about to change the world forever, and you look like your dog just died! What's up?"  
  
Crimson forced out a laugh. She couldn't let her best friend see her like this. She had to keep her morale up, for her and her compatriots. "I'm fine," she said, smiling, "its just this place, y'know, it gets to me."  
  
"I know what you mean, darlin'," she replied, surveying her surroundings, "he could have picked a better place to start a revolution, but hey, beggars can't be choosers!"  
  
Crimson felt some of her happiness returning. She was always amazed at Silver's ability to see the humour in any situation. Maybe that's why she admired her so much. In the end, she was glad that at least they would survive together.  
  
"What are the orders?" asked Silver, obviously ready for battle.  
  
Crimson could see the soldier awakened in her friends pale eyes. Gulping, she told her the orders. "We are to patrol the perimeter."  
  
"Man, could he be more boring," said Silver. Crimson was surprised with her response. She was ready to stop her barging into the boss's room, kicking and screaming for new orders. But she was mistaken. Obviously her friend had tamed since there days at the FOXHOUND academy. She was now a soldier willing to accept her duty. To her, any work on this exercise was meaningful. They were going to change the world after all.  
  
"Yeah," said Crimson, smiling, "lets get it over with."  
  
"You're, of course, right," replied ever-cheerful Silver, already making her way towards the tunnel that led to the perimeter fence.  
  
It was a fifteen-minute walk from their location to the tunnel on the bottom floor. Silver hated using lifts. She saw them as 'a sign of laziness' and much preferred a slow walk down to the lower reaches of the base. That way they could talk. They were war-buddies, Silver and Crimson. Back when they first joined up, they didn't know anybody, so they decided to work with each other, two strangers in an even stranger situation. They would sign up for the same missions. They were lovers in a way. But instead of kissing, they killed. A sordid relationship born from the suffering of others. In the field, all they had was each other, but that's exactly how they liked it.  
  
They were walking through the tunnel, a stretch almost a mile long. It led to the outside of the perimeter fence. They were discussing guns.  
  
"I would've much preferred a FA-MAS over these old AK's any day," explained Crimson, as they neared the end of the tunnel.  
  
Silver laughed. "Always with the technology," she said, in a teasing tone, "I love these old-school guns. Reminds me of back home."  
  
"That's what I mean."  
  
Suddenly, shouting could be heard from the end of the tunnel nearest the base, followed by a volley of machine-gun fire. Silver looked into Crimson's eyes. Crimson shook her head. She knew they shouldn't. She knew what the master intended for the two of them. She couldn't allow his last wish for her to not be fulfilled. For the first time, she had to say no to her friend.  
  
"They need our help, Crimson, you know that they are in trouble without us," shouted Silver angrily, shaking her gun all around.  
  
"We have specific orders."  
  
"Screw the orders!" cut in Silver, "the boss didn't anticipate this! We have to help!"  
  
"I can't go against his orders," said a melancholic Crimson, looking at the ground, close to tears. Silver could not believe her ears. Her companion, her best friend, who had stood by her through the worst of times, was refusing to grant her wish. Looking into Silver's cold eyes once again, Crimson began to cry, the tears rolling of her face speedily. Silver, holding back her true emotion, grunted and turned her back on her friend for the first, and last, time.  
  
"SILVER!!!" Crimson screamed as Silver dashed into the darkness towards her doom. Falling to her knees, Crimson wept heavily, her tears creating a small puddle on the floor. She knelt there for what seemed like an eternity. But then, from the light at the end of tunnel, a voice shouted. A voice she recognised. A friendly voice.  
  
"Crimson!"  
  
"Puma?" Hearing the voice of her other team-mate, she stood on her feet as quickly as she could muster. Dashing to the end of the tunnel, she was greeted by blinding sunlight, and KA-60 Kasatka helicopter. Puma was standing outside of the chopper, waiting for his friend. Crimson was shocked at the situation.  
  
"What's going on?" she shouted over the loud rotating blades.  
  
"I'm here to lift you out, orders from Big Boss himself," he shouted, signalling her to get into the copter.  
  
At first, she hesitated, but was soon dashing into the helicopter as the tunnel behind her exploded, causing a deafening explosion.  
  
"NOOOOO!!!!!" 


End file.
